PERSUADING CHILDREN

Press, Volume C, Issue 29607, 1 September 1961, Page 2

PERSUADING CHILDREN

Place Mats At Table It is well-known that attractively served food will do much to tempt the child who is reluctant to eat his meals. But have you ever considered adding to this persuasion with place-mats and serviettes embroidered with favourite cartoon or story-book characters? These gay dinner mats are simple to make and once the pattern is there for one design three or four mats and serviettes could be made in an afternoon. Choose bright coloured scraps of material and bind them with gay trimmings. Save the plain pieces to make the motifs in the middle. Any amateur artist can draw and cut out a mode! of a duck from a piece of cardboard and if a taaselled cap is added to the original drawing the motif will make quite a convincing “Donald." For small girls motifs depicting fairies are just as easy to make. The main thing is to give the fairy very large wings and a star on top of her head above masses of long curls. One mother made this motif with different scraps of material and chose pieces of gold lame to make the wings and star. "It had a sparkle that made it more real.” she said.

A yard or so of checked gingham will make a cheery note of colour on the table and will save you time in : laundering if these are placed on a plastic cloth. If your children have fairly short names you could sew these on as an extra trimming. The letters are made with scraps of ric-rac braid. It may be easy to keep as a tablecloth but plastic is not a good material for these place-mats. Hot dishes will ruin them and the sticking may tear after they have been washed a few times. It is better to use very strong cotton fabric and energetic mothers could make a padded centre of cotton material to serve as a heatresistant mat. J